Nov
6

Child Support: An Obligation, No Matter the Parent’s Immigration Status

Minnesota family law lawyers often hear the question from parents who live apart from their child: “How much will I have to pay for child support?” The lawyer turns to the Minnesota Child Support Calculator online and inputs the relevant information, such as the number of minor joint children, each parent’s gross monthly income, the percentage of parenting time, and the cost of medical insurance.  The client (who is often the father, but not always) may be surprised to hear that his gross monthly income is used in the calculation rather than his take-home pay, and his monthly living...

Apr
9

Counting Hours Worked for Child Support - Not All Hours Are the Same

In Minnesota, the child support amount the court orders a person to to pay is a function of several economic factors. These factors include both parent’s gross monthly income, the costs of medical and dental insurance for your joint child(ren), any non-joint children living in either home, the cost of child care, and the amount of time that the joint child(ren) spends with each parent. A judge or child support magistrate enters these factors into the Minnesota Child Support Calculator to determine a child support obligation. Although plugging numbers into the Minnesota Child Support...

Jun
18

Minnesota Child Support and Parenting Time: No Guarantees

A common question is: “Since I’m paying child support, I’m automatically entitled to parenting time with my kids, right?” The frustrating answer for many parents is: no; simply paying child support does not automatically grant a parent the right to parenting time with his or her children.

Under Minnesota law, when a child is born to an unmarried mother, the mother automatically has full legal and physical custody of the child. Minn. Stat. § 257.54. Even if the father signs a Recognition of Parentage and is on the birth certificate, this does not grant the father any rights to...

Oct
14

Child Support in Minnesota - Evolution or Revolution in 2018?

On August 1, 2018, a new child support law went into effect in Minnesota.  The question many people have is simple: so what?   Well, child support is all about the math.   In 2018, the math has changed in significant ways.

The new law requires the Court to know the exact number of overnights each parent will have with their child to determine the percentage of time each parent has, averaged over a two-year period, to apply a Parenting Expense Adjustment.  Minn. Stat. Sec. 518A.36. The Parenting Expense Adjustment, which is a new concept in Minnesota law, recognizes that a parent...

Nov
8

The Reality of the Dependency Exemption after the Tax Cut and Jobs Act

Generally, the tax dependency exemption is awarded to the custodial parent; this is the federal default[1]. The custodial parent is defined as the parent receiving more than 50% of the parenting time, based on overnights. However, Minnesota Courts have the power to award a tax exemption to a non-custodial parent incident to the determination of child support and physical custody. Minn. Stat. § 518A.38, subd. 7. In making the decision, Courts are directed to consider: 1) the financial resources of each party; 2) if not awarding the dependency exemption negatively impacts a parent’s...